WEBVTT EFFORTS TO MAKE SURE THEY GET IT RIGHT. WHEN THERE'S A CRI HAPPENING, OUR FIRSTINSTINCT IS GENERALLYSURVIVAL, THE SECOND - TOCALL 911. >> 911 POLICE , FIRE, AMBULANCE. > SOMEONE BROKE INTO MY HOUSE. 911 OPERATOR: SOMEBODY BROKE INTO YOUR HOUSE?" >> OH MYGOD, A SEMI NEAR LOST IT. SHE RAN IT OFF THE ROAD. >>SIR, WHAT KIND OF VEHICLE IS SHE IN? >> THOSE HEAT-OF-THE-MOMENT DESCRIPTIONS TRIGGER AN INSTANT INVESTIGATIVE RESPONSE AS OFFICERS COMB THE AREA LOOKING FOR THE CRIMINAL. >> I'MTERRIFIED BECAUSE THERE'S LIKE SIX SQUAD CARS. >> TWOWEEKS AGO, SHANETTA ANDERSONGOT CAUGHT IN ONE OF THOSE DRAGNETS. >> THEY HAD ALL OF THEIR WEAPONS DRAWN, I'M SHAKING, I'M CRYING. >> POLICE TOLD HER THEY WERE LOOKING FOR A ROBBER. >> ITWAS A BANK ROBBERY AND IT WAS A BLACK MALE AND HE HADON A WHITE BASEBALL CAP,SIMILAR TO MINE AND I HAD ONA WHITE CAP. WHILE SUCHSTOPS CAN BE TERRIFYING,POLICE EXPERTS SAY THEY'RECRITICAL TO SOLVING CRIME. COPS HAVE A REALLY HARD JOB RIGHT NOW, ESPECIALLY WHEN INFORMATION JUST COMES OUT...HEY BANK WAS ROBBED, GUY GOT AWAY AND YOU START LOOKING FOR HIM AND YOU HAVE A PIECEMEAL DESCRIPTION. RICK COLE TRAINS POLICE RECRUITS AT MATC, A FORMER COP, PROSECUTOR AND DEFENSE ATTORNEY. HE TEACHES WHAT THE LAW ALLOWS COPS TO DO IN THE NAME OF CRIMEFIGHTING. RECRUITS GO THROUGH TRAINING EXERCISES LIKE THIS ONE, WHICH TEACHES THE LIMITS OF EYEWITNESS IDENTIFICATION. >> THEY ALL SAW THE SAME THING, YOU KNOW THEY ALL SAW THE SAME THING. SOME PEOPLE CAN IDENTIFY, SOME PEOPLE CAN'T. BELOIT COLLEGEPROFESSOR LARRY WHITE IS ANEXPERT IN EYEWITNESS IDENTIFICATION. >> THERE ARE MANY PEOPLE WHO HAVE THE VIEW THAT HUMAN MEMORY WORKS LIKE A VIDEO-RECORDING SYSTEM. THAT'S NOT HOW HUMAN MEMORY WORKS WHITE SAYS DECADES OF RESEARCH SHOWS HUMANS ARE FAR LESS RELIABLE THAN THEY THINK, PARTICULARLY WHEN DESCRIBING STRESSFUL EVENTS LIKE CRIME. WHENEVER ONE'S PHYSIOLOGICAL AROUSAL IS SKY HIGH, WE TEND TO PERFORM LESS WELL ON COGNITIVE TASKS OF ALL SORTS.>> ARE POLICE ANY BET FEARTHEY ARE NO BETTER ORWORSE.>> YES, THERE ARE ISSUESWHEN IT RELATES TO HUMANIDENTIFICATION IN STRESSFULSITUATIONS.IT DOESN'T MEAN WE GIVE UP.>> THEY TRAIN POLICERECRUITS THEY CAN STOP ANDQUESTION CITIZENS BUT ONLYWHEN THEY HAVE WHAT THE LAWCONSIDERS REASONABLESUSPICION.SPECIFIC FACTS THAT LINK APERSON TO THE SUSPECTDESCRIPTION.>> SAME TYPE OF CAR.SAME TYPE OF HAT.SAME TYPE OF AREA.THAT ADDS UP TO REASONABLESUSPENSION.>> FITS THE WRONG FY, THEOFFICER IS TRAINED TOEXPLAIN THE REASON FOR THESTOP.AND SEND HIM ON HIS WAY.PUBLIC SAFETY IS WORTH SOMEINCONHAVE BEENENCE TO THEINNOCENT.>> I IMAGINE IF YOU WEREROBBED, YOU WERE ABLE TOGIVE A DESCRIPTION.YOU WOULD WANT THEM TO TALKTO PEOPLE.WHO KNOWS?THEY MAY BE WRONG.BUT THEY MAY ALSO FIND YOURSTUFF.REPORTER: POLICE UNDERGOEXTENSIVE TRAINING IN HOW TOGET WITHS TO IDENTIFYSUSPECTS TO MAKE SURELINE-UPS ARE ACCURATE.ZIS.JOYCE: THAT IS A DIFFICULTTASK.REPORTER: RESEARCH SHOWS THE RELIABILITY AND EYEFENTCATION DROPS WHEN AWEAPONS USED.RACE IS A FACTOR.WE ARE ALL BETTER ATIDENTIFYING PEOPLE OF OUROWN RACE THAN ANOTHER. THEY'RE ABOUT 60% MORELIKELY TO MAKE AN ERROR THAN

Decades of research shows that human memory is far less reliable than people think, particularly when it comes to describing high stress events like crime.

Humans tend to perform fairly poorly on cognitive tasks of all sorts whenever someone's physiological arousal is high, explained Beloit College Professor Larry White, an expert in eyewitness identification. If a weapon is used in a crime, the reliability of a suspect description drops because the weapon diverts the victim's attention.

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"There are many people who have the view that human memory works like a video-recording system," he said. "That's not how human memory works."

Further, said White, police officers are no better at identification than the rest of us.

At Milwaukee Area Technical College, police recruits are trained that they can stop and question citizens only when they have what the law considers reasonable suspicion: specific facts that link a person to the suspect description.

"Same type of car, same type of hat, same type of area, that adds up to reasonable suspicion," explained Rick Cole, a former officer, prosecutor and defense attorney-turned instructor.

Cole said there are issues when it relates to human identification, but that doesn't mean that officers stop give up. If a mistake is made, Cole said the officer is trained to explain the reason for the stop and then send him on his way. He said the courts have long recognized that mistakes happen in police work and that public safety is worth some inconvenience to the innocent.

"Imagine you were robbed and you were able to give a description. You'd want them to talk to people and who knows, they may be wrong, but they might also find your stuff," he said.

A high-stress situation isn't the only scenario in which the reliability of a suspect description declines. Race is another factor. Research shows that people are better at identifying people of their own race. When identifying someone of another race, people are 60 percent more likely to be wrong.